Maná Singer Fher Criticizes Hugo Chávez

Maná Singer Fher Criticizes Hugo Chávez

The vocalist called the Venezuelan president a dictator and showed his support for Alejandro Sanz

Fher Olivera, singer for the band Maná, is standing up for Alejandro Sanz. The Mexican vocalist called Venezuelan authorities unjust for keeping the Spanish artist from giving a concert in the South American country last Feb. 14.

"This is about a universal injustice, not just in Venezuela. No president can prohibit art. It's like what the PRI political party would do years ago in Mexico – they wouldn't let you see concerts, and you would have to see Queen and other bands outside of the country. That's why we support Sanz, because the Chávez [administration] is a dictatorship, and a free country should let art be made available," the 48-year-old singer said at a press conference in Mexico.

Fher was one of the 85 celebrities who supported Sanz by signing a letter of disapproval of the Venezuelan authorities' actions. The Maná singer also insinuated that the Hugo Chávez government has promoted a climate of fear in the country. "If people are afraid to say anything then something is wrong...The Venezuelan community doesn't deserve to have artists taken from them," he reiterated.